Thursday, August 27, 2015

One set of Huma Abedin E-Mails might be “The Rosetta Stone” for the whole Hillary Clinton E-mails caper

One of the reasons Hillary Clinton wanted to keep her communications secret from everybody while she was Secretary of State was to conceal a selling of access operation that went with her everywhere like a round-the-world floating crap game

One set of Huma Abedin’s E-mails showed how it all worked involving a small get together with Secretary of State Clinton in Dublin at the end of 2012

The Washington Post reports that “As Hillary Rodham Clinton was preparing for her farewell international trip as secretary of state, her close aide and confidante Huma Abedin e-mailed a small number of longtime political allies to help arrange an intimate get-together at a private club in Dublin.... ‘Maybe we can all gather for drinks/dinner and HRC can come join for as long as she can?’ Abedin wrote.... The December 2012 event showcased the unique position that Abedin occupied at the apex of the Clintons’ public and private worlds during the final six months of Hillary Clinton’s tenure heading the State Department....” ( See “How Huma Abedin operated at the center of the Clinton universe” by Rosalind S. Helderman & Tom Hamburger 8/27/15, The Washington Post [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-huma-abedin-operated-at-the-center-of-the-clinton-universe/2015/08/27/cd099eee-4b32-11e5-902f-39e9219e574b_story.html]).

The article by Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger also stated that “.... New interviews and documents, including the e-mails about the Ireland dinner, provide additional details about some of Abedin’s activities during those months and how her overlapping roles make it difficult to determine when she was working for the public and when her work was benefiting a private interest. Now, Abedin’s work during that time is becoming a central element in several controversies dogging Clinton’s presidential campaign....”

HUMA ABEDIN SIMULTANEOUSLY PERFORMED FOUR JOBS FOR MULTIPLE EMPLOYERS ARRANGING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR “DRINKS AND DINNER” WITH SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON

The article in the WaPo went on to say, “.... At the time [December 2012], Abedin held four jobs with four different employers — an arrangement allowed by a special government designation she held permitting outside employment. And each job had a connection to the Dublin dinner [for Hillary Clinton]....”

HERE ARE THE DETAILS ACCORDING TO THE WASHINGTON POST

The invitation itself had been sent from Ms. Abedin’s State Department account, while Secretary Clinton was making plans for an official trip in her role as the Secretary of State. The dinner was attended by the chief executive of the private consulting firm named “Teneo,” which has close ties to both Bill and Hillary Clinton, and which simultaneously employed Abedin as an adviser at the time. At the dinner were donors to Hillary Clinton’s campaigns as well as to the Clinton Foundation, where Abedin was also simultaneously functioning as contractor preparing for Hillary Clinton’s eventual transition to the charity. Lastly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the dinner in Dublin for about an hour, and at the time HRC was also paying Huma Abedin directly out of personal funds to prepare for her overall transition from Secretary of State to “private life.”

WHAT IT ALL MEANS

To critics, Huma Abedin is an avatar of concern as to whether Hillary Clinton ignored rules and customs expected of government officials while she served as the U.S. Secretary of State. They say Abedin, who was a political appointee, was not qualified for the “special government employee” treatment, which allowed her to simultaneously hold her additional jobs. The program was established in 1962 to bring private-sector experts into government for temporary assignments. It is reported that more than 100 people, many with expertise in niche areas of science and global affairs, receive the special status from the State Department each year.

Congressional oversight committees as well as several citizen lawsuits are looking into the details of Huma Abedin’s complicated work/employment arrangements, and the likelihood of conflicts of interest and multiple payments for identical work.

ABC NEWS DOES SIMILAR REPORT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON AIDE HUMA ABEDIN

According to the report posted on the ABC News web, “Newly released e-mails offer a glimpse into Hillary Clinton confidant and personal aide Huma Abedin, who is facing growing scrutiny for her “special government employee” status inside the U.S. State Department while Clinton was in her final year as Secretary of State.... Some have alleged that Abedin used her ties to Clinton to improperly exert influence for the benefit of her [other] bosses. No evidence has been presented publicly, however and Abedin has not been charged with any crime or formally accused of violating government policy....” (See “What's Inside The Just Released Huma Abedin State Department Emails” by Arlett Saenz & Benjamin Siegel, 8/27/15, ABC News
[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/inside-released-huma-abedin-state-department-emails/story?id=33365469]).

FOX FOCUSES ON SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY’S LETTER TO SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY ASKING ABOUT HUMA ABEDIN’S STATUS AS AN “SGE” — ALL PROMPTED BY THE DISCLOSURE OF HUMA’S LATEST SERIES OF E-MAILS

“The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee raised questions Thursday about how a top Hillary Clinton aide's fundraising for the Clinton Foundation and job at a corporate advisory firm intersected with her work at the State Department.... Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned whether Huma Abedin's status as a Special Government Employee (SGE), which enabled her to hold four positions simultaneously, created conflicts of interest.... ‘How can the taxpayer know who exactly SGEs are working for at any given moment?’ Grassley asked in a letter to Abedin and Secretary of State John Kerry. ‘How can the ethics officer at the State Department know?’... Grassley's letter was prompted by emails from Abedin's official State Department account obtained by Fox News that include messages sent ahead of a December 2012 visit to Dublin and Belfast by Clinton, who was then secretary of state. In those emails and others, Abedin discusses diplomatic matters as well as issues related to her work for both the Clinton Foundation and Teneo, a firm co-founded by a longtime aide to former president Bill Clinton....” (See “Emails show top Clinton aide discussed work for foundation, consulting firm while at State Dept.” by Fox News Staff [w/ Catherine Herridge contributing], 8/28/15, Fox News/ State Department [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/28/top-clinton-aide-job-juggling-draws-scrutiny-senate-judiciary-committee-chair/]).

Fox concluded with these notes about what Huma Abedin and Senator Grassley has said: “.... Abedin has denied any wrongdoing related to Clinton's server or her status as a Special Government Employee. Earlier this week, Abdein's lawyer responded to another letter from Grassley with a missive of his own claiming the senator had ‘unfairly tarnished Ms. Abedin’s reputation by making unsubstantiated allegations that appear to flow from misinformation ... provided by an unnamed — and apparently unreliable — source.’... Abedin herself issued a more diplomatic denial in a July 2013 letter to Grassley: ‘I was not asked, nor did I undertake, any work on Teneo’s behalf before the Department (and I should note that it is my understanding that Teneo does not conduct business with the Department of State). I was also not asked, nor did I provide, insights about the Department, my work with the Secretary, or any government information to which I may have had access.’... ‘The bottom line has always been and still is whether the taxpayers are well-served by agency practices and spending,’ Grassley said in his letter Thursday. ‘No one will know for sure until the State Department is more transparent about how it operates.’...”

IN A FRIDAY SPEECH — WHILE DONALD TRUMP SEEMED TO BE FOCUSING ON THE HILLARY CLINTON E-MAIL SECURITY PROBLEMS CAUSED BY HUMA ABEDIN — TRUMP PIVOTED AND SLAMMED HUMA’S HUSBAND, ANTHONY WEINER FOR BEING A “SLEAZEBALL” AND A “PERV” AND A “REALLY BAD GUY”

CALL IT TRUMP’S WEINER-HUMA BANK-SHOT AT HILLARY — CALL IT TRUMP GETTING A CALLED STRIKE WITH A “PERV BALL” — CALL IT GREAT TELEVISION

BUT SOMETHING YOU CAN’T CALL IT IS ANYTHING THAT HILLARY CLINTON OR HER CAMPAIGN LIKES AT ALL

According to Breitbart News, which is rapidly becoming THE Trump news blog, “Hillary Clinton’s campaign tried to defend her controversial top staffer, Huma Abedin, after Donald Trump called Abedin’s husband – the disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner–a ‘perv’ and a ‘sleazebag.’... Hillary’s defense consisted mostly of an effort to change the subject. ‘Donald Trump has spent the summer saying offensive things about women, but there is no place for patently false, personal attacks towards a staff member,’ said Hillary’s press secretary Nick Merrill.... [The statement by the HRC campaign] also tried to stigmatize public debate about [any of] Abedin’s actions. Trump “should be ashamed of himself, and others in his own party should take a moment to stand up to him and draw the line for once. It’s embarrassing to watch frankly,” she said....” (See “HILLARY SQUIRMS AS TRUMP CALLS HUMA’S HUSBAND WEINER A ‘PERV’ AND ‘SLEAZEBAG’” by Jordan Schachtel, 8/29/15, Breitbart News [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/29/hillary-squirms-as-trump-calls-humas-husband-weiner-a-perv-and-sleazebag/]).

After a brief intro that made it seem that he was going to talk about Hillary Clinton’s E-mail and national security problems caused by Huma Abedin, Donald Trump did several minutes of an hilarious riff about Huma Abedin’s husband, Anthony Weiner. It was only after that Trump refocused on Huma Abedin as a national security risk.

The Schachtal-Breitbart article reports that Donald Trump explained during a speech in Massachusetts on Friday that “Huma now is one of the people” in a protective clique that surrounds Hillary Clinton. In addition, that Trump also suggested that Abedin is a security risk, because she is the daughter of Islamic supremacists.

One suspects that Donald Trump won’t be through with any of this — anytime soon.

The top-listed item for the Google search "HILLARY CLINTON NEWS" was a poll result from the most recent poll of Iowa voters. According to Google this was the number one (#1) news story about Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton: Iowa Poll: Clinton leads, but Sanders draws near -- DesMoinesRegister.com‎ - 5 hours ago (See "HILLARY CLINTON NEWS" Google Search, 8/30/15,Google [https://www.google.com/search?q=Hillary+Clinton+News&oq=Hillary+Clinton+News&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65l3j0l2.19938j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8]).

Here are some of the other top results, which were articles and/or posts about that poll:

About Me

I formerly have commented on various political blogs concerning Republican politics. Although the focus of my political commentary has been on the Brooklyn GOP and other aspects of politics in Brooklyn, I have also posted commentary about national matters.
If you wish to contact Galewyn Massey directly, please, Email to galewynmasban@gmail.com